House lawmakers asked the Justice Department on Monday to open an investigation into former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for making false statements to Congress about his handling of the state’s nursing-home patients during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer sent a criminal referral to Attorney General Pam Bondi, accusing Mr. Cuomo of lying to a House panel that was investigating the origins and handling of the pandemic.
“Andrew Cuomo is a man with a history of corruption and deceit, now caught red-handed lying to Congress during the Select Subcommittee’s investigation into the COVID-19 nursing home tragedy in New York. This wasn’t a slip-up — it was a calculated cover-up by a man seeking to shield himself from responsibility for the devastating loss of life in New York’s nursing homes,” said Mr. Comer, Kentucky Republican.
Specifically, Mr. Comer accused Mr. Cuomo of lying about his involvement in drafting a July 6, 2020, state health department report on the factors associated with nursing home infections and fatalities during the pandemic.
The report justified Mr. Cuomo’s March 2020 directive to return patients suffering from COVID-19 infections to return to nursing homes. The report concluded the policy was “not a significant factor in nursing home fatalities.”
During a June 11, 2024, interview, Mr. Cuomo told the COVID panel he wasn’t involved in drafting the July 2020 report but House investigators say they have discovered evidence that he and his aides were not only involved in the nursing home directive but then, “acted repeatedly to downplay the tragic aftermath of their decision.”
The Justice Department had no immediate public comment on whether it would open an investigation of Mr. Cuomo in response.
Mr. Cuomo is running for mayor of New York City, challenging incumbent Eric Adams.
A spokesman told The Washington Times that Mr. Cuomo, during his testimony before the committee, at first said he did not have a hand in editing the July 6 report, but quickly corrected himself during the interview, explaining it happened years ago and he did not recall whether he played a role in writing it.
Spokesman Rich Azzopardi said lawmakers sent the same referral last year and did not need to send a new referral now that Ms. Bondi is running the Justice Department.
“This is nothing more than a silly press release from a far right, ultra-politicized Congress that was nonsense last year and it’s even more so now,” Mr. Azzopardi said. “As the DOJ constantly reminds people, this kind of transparent election interference and lawfare violates their own policies.”
Both Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Adams are Democrats but Mr. Adams said he’ll run for re-election as an independent after concluding federal bribery charges hanging over him will make it difficult for him to win the Democratic primary.
Mr. Adams has aligned himself with Mr. Trump on immigration policy and has been reluctant to criticize the president.
His administration, however, recently joined the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority lawsuit against the Trump administration’s effort to stop traffic congestion pricing in the city.
Mr. Cuomo announced his bid for New York City mayor on March 1, positioning himself as a moderate who can “turn the city around,” and take on Mr. Trump.
Mr. Cuomo was elected governor in 2018 and was forced to resign in 2021 amid a slew of sexual harassment charges.
He faced significant criticism for his nursing home directive during the COVID-19 pandemic. It allowed more than 9,000 patients recovering from COVID-19 to be re-admitted to nursing homes, which spread the illness to vulnerable residents.
The directive was rescinded in May 2020 amid concerns it was escalating nursing home deaths.
